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Wild Vs. Blackhawks: Minnesota Visits Motivated Chicago Team

Wild look for third straight win over a playoff team.

CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 12: Mikko Koivu #9 of the Minnesota Wild advances the puck ahead of Jimmy Hayes #39 of the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on January 12, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois.  (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 12: Mikko Koivu #9 of the Minnesota Wild advances the puck ahead of Jimmy Hayes #39 of the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on January 12, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
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The Minnesota Wild visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday evening to begin the final week of the regular season.

The end of the week will mark the end of the season for Minnesota but Chicago continues trying to put themselves in the best position for the playoffs. The Blackhawks are currently in sixth place in the Western Conference but remain just one point behind fourth-place Nashville in the battle for home ice in the first round of the playoffs.

The Wild continue rolling toward the end regular season looking for their third straight win. But once the regular season ends the next notable news for Minnesota will revolve around the NHL draft. Speaking of which, the folks at Hockey Wilderness appreciate the effort by the Wild but are starting to re-think the idea of winning meaningless games at the end of the season.

Wild are currently in 4th (76 points), three points behind Montreal for 3rd and five points behind Edmonton for 2nd. However, they are perilously close to falling behind the Maple Leafs, Islanders and the Ducks who all have 77 and the Hurricanes (78) and Lightning (79) aren't too far behind. As I said, this could get very ugly very quickly. #DiveForFive

The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be televised on Fox Sports North.

For more on the Minnesota Wild, check out Hockey Wilderness. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Photographs by Micah Taylor, clairity, and Fibonacci Blue used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.